Millennial Hits Pothole, Damages Car While Playing Pokemon Go

August 8, 2016

Stubble: What happened, in a nutshell?Ross: It’s pretty boring, I was driving back home the Thursday before we were all set to go to that wedding. I figured “ah, traffic’s pretty slow, let’s see if I can catch a few Pokemon while I’m stopped.” But then I made the ill-fated decision to try and spin a couple of Pokestops while driving and unfortunately for me and my car, missed seeing the foot-deep pothole on Franklin. I didn’t know what I hit when I heard the explosion, but I knew something went wrong. And then the way my car started to slump, I knew that I had done some damage, at least a flat tire.

Stubble: So what was the full extent of the damage?Ross: It was indeed a flat tire in my right front, along with two dented wheels and then a pressure bulge in the rear right tire which meant it had to be replaced. It came out to around $1,500 worth of damage.

Stubble: How did this affect your Pokemon Go game?Ross: Well I deleted the app, so now it will not trouble me anymore.

Stubble: How good were you when you retired? Will you miss it?Ross: I wasn’t that good at it. I didn’t play that much. Maybe if I had put more time into playing it when I wasn’t driving I would have been less inclined to play it behind the wheel.

Stubble: What was the reaction when you told people what happened?Ross: At first, I just mentioned that I hit a pothole, but then I knew the truth wouldn’t stay hidden for long. Then it evolved into “well, I was looking down at my cell phone” and then I told everyone what I was looking down at on my cell phone. And then that’s when the jeers started.

Stubble: So when your lies evolved, not unlike the Pokemon you were trying to catch, what kind of feedback did you get specifically?Ross: Well, it wasn’t a lie. Maybe just a lie of omission – I just didn’t say what it was. My lovely millennial peers called me… I don’t remember anything specifically, probably just “you’re an idiot” which I hear all the time so it’s not a big deal.

Stubble: Now that you’ve retired from Pokemon, what are you up to these days?Ross: Losing at Hearthstone.

Ross Pomeroy is a science journalist based in Minneapolis.Editor’s Note: He was distracted playing Hearthstone during this interview.